1.15.2008

Legwarmies

Legwarmiesby Alana Dakos

These are the perfect cool weather accessory for the "little legs" in your life. I love to put my 2 year old in those cute short skirts and dresses for spring, but I worry about her little legs being too cold. These are great for chilly mornings because they are so easy to slip off when the sun comes out. She also wears them over tights for added warmth on an extra cool day.Legwarmies are practical and a fun and funky fashion statement. You can knit them to match all your favorite outfits. They make great last minute gifts because it only takes a weekend to whip up a pair. Legwarmies stretch to fit most children from about 3 months to 3 years old. This yarn is wonderfully soft and warm against your little ones skin and, guess what moms, you can even machine wash them!

PATTERN NOTES2x2 Rib (Worked over a multiple of 4 sts)Round 1: [K2, p2] to end.Every round is the same.

Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast off:(This produces a nice stretchy cuff that won't be too tight and cut off circulation!)Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Thread tail onto tapestry needle. Insert needle purlwise into first stitch then move it to be the last stitch on the final needle. It will then become the final stitch to be cast off. This gives a neater finish to the end of the round. Continue with the following instructions:*Sew purlwise (right to left) through 2 stitches, leave the stitches on the needle. Sew knitwise (left to right) through the first stitch and then remove stitch from the needle. Repeat from * for the entire circumference. You will have one stitch remaining. Insert needle purlwise into last stitch and remove from the needle.

PATTERNWith [MC] loosely cast on 44 stitches. Divide stitches evenly between 3 double pointed needles. (15 stitches on needles 1 and 2, 14 stitches on needle 3.) Join into a round being careful not to twist your stitches. Mark first stitch for beginning of round. Work 6 rounds in 2x2 Rib.Version A (Solid Color): Switch to St st and work until piece measures 8 inches from cast on edge. Work 6 more rounds in 2x2 Rib. Loosely cast off using Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast off method.Version B (Thin Stripe): *Drop [MC] switch to [CC] and work 2 rounds in St st. Drop [CC], pick up [MC] and work 2 rounds in St st. Repeat from * continuing in this manner until you have 35 stripes total ending with a [CC] stripe. Cut [CC] leaving a long tail to weave in the end. Pick up [MC]. Knit one round. Work 6 rounds in 2x2 Rib. Loosely cast off using Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast off method.Version C (Wide Stripe): *Drop [MC] switch to [CC] and work 4 rounds in St st. Drop [CC] pick up [MC] and work 4 rounds in St st. Repeat from * continuing in this manner until you have 17 stripes total ending with a [CC] stripe. Cut [CC] leaving a long tail to weave in end. Pick up [MC] Knit one round. Work 6 rounds in 2x2 Rib. Loosely cast off using Elizabeth Zimmerman's Sewn Cast off method.

FINISHINGWeave in ends using a tapestry needle. Block lightly.

By the way, my daughter has been wearing these a lot lately and they look super duper cute on her and everyone comments on them!

I'm happy to report that Legwarmies is also available in French and Hungarian!

I was looking for a legwarmies pattern. Yours is exactly what I was looking for. Simply perfect ! I am french so I traduced your pattern into french. Can I publish the french version on my blog ? With a link to your blog, of course.Excuse my poor english. I am ok with knitting english but speaking english is more diffucult :-)

Hi, I have finished first of our pair of legwarmies, but the stripes aren't as straight as I hoped them to be. The place where one row finishes and second begins is a bit slanted to one side, you can say that it is the joint at the back. Do you have any tips to avoid this?

Hi, I am from Australia and we don't get that yarn here. Could anybody help me with the thickness of this yarn? That is, would it be 4-ply, 8-ply/double knitting, 10-ply/chunky, 12-ply? Also what size needles to use and if I could use a circular needle, what length should I try? Many thanks for your generosity of supplying the free pattern.

This is a really cute pattern. I'd like to feature it in Curtzy.com's Knitting and Crochet newsletter. This would entail a short description of the pattern and link back to your blog, with all the credit being given to you.